Illegal immigrants forced to leave a barge over an outbreak of Legionella bacteria have been told they can return to the vessel.
The Home Office confirmed on Tuesday it sent letters to immigrants about re-embarking on to the Bibby Stockholm, docked at Portland Port in Dorset.
No date has been set, but a Home Office spokesperson said the accommodation is still on a “no-choice basis”.
The update comes as a Dorset resident is bringing legal action against the department over using the barge.
Carralyn Parkes, who lives on the Isle of Portland, is set to ask the High Court for approval to challenge the Home Office over the barge, arguing the Government requires planning permission.
Ms. Parkes is the mayor of Portland but intends to bring the challenge in a personal capacity.
A hearing will take place on Tuesday morning, where lawyers on her behalf are expected to argue that the barge is essentially a permanent structure, with connections for people to get on and off, as well as for utilities.
Setbacks
With a capacity of more than 500, the government hoped that using the Bibby Stockholm and former military bases would help reduce the amount it spends on hotel bills for asylum seekers waiting for claims to be processed.However, it has been hit by a series of setbacks.
Ahead of the first immigrants’ arrival in July, the government was forced to delay embarkation after claims the vessel had not passed strict fire safety checks.
Transport Minister Richard Holden confirmed the postponement, said the vessel was undergoing “final checks,” refusing to put a timescale on when the immigrants would arrive at the Portland Port site.
On Aug. 8, the first illegal migrants eventually boarded the vessel, but around 20 did not after charity Care4Calais brought last-minute legal challenges.
Care4Calais Chief Executive Steve Smith said that none of the illegal immigrants represented by the charity travelled to the floating accommodation after legal representatives had their transfers cancelled.
Days later, all migrants who had boarded the barge had to be evacuated after tests revealed Legionella—the bacteria which can cause the potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease—was present on the vessel.
Confirming the return of immigrants to the barge, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Office has started to send letters to asylum seekers to confirm the re-embarkation of the Bibby Stockholm and notify them that they will be accommodated on board, following the vessel completing all necessary tests.
“The letters confirm the next steps for asylum seekers and reiterate that all asylum accommodation continues to be offered on a no-choice basis.
Rwanda Deal
Opposition politicians and human rights groups have consistently criticised the use of the barge. Amnesty International UK’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director Steve Valdez-Symonds said the “utterly shameful” vessel is “reminiscent of the prison hulks from the Victorian era.”“Housing people on a floating barge is likely to be re-traumatising and there should be major concerns about confining each person to living quarters the typical size of a car parking space,” he said.
Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the barge is “a symbol of Rishi Sunak’s total failure” to clear the asylum backlog and tackle the criminal gangs that have taken hold on Britain’s borders.
Under the government’s new Illegal Migration Act, those housed at the barge and other government-funded accommodation will be deported or moved to a safe country such as Rwanda.
The £140 million deal to move illegal immigrants from the UK to the East African country has been stalled following a series of legal challenges.
On Monday, the Supreme Court began hearing the government’s appeal against the ruling that the policy is unlawful as ministers struggle to achieve Mr. Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats.”
Speaking to a panel of five senior judges, Sir James Eadie, KC, for the Home Office, said the policy to remove people to “a country less attractive” than the UK, “but nevertheless safe,” is lawful.
The barrister said both countries are “committed” to the deal, with “very powerful” practical incentives for Rwanda to comply with the assurances given. Opening the government’s challenge, Sir James said, “the appeal is, at its heart, about the judgments made by government about the future conduct of a friendly foreign state—Rwanda.”
However, lawyers on behalf of several asylum seekers said Rwanda is an “authoritarian, one-party state” with a “woefully deficient” asylum system.
Raza Husain, KC, told the court the African nation “imprisons, tortures and murders those it considers to be its opponents,” adding that Home Office officials had “repeatedly recorded their concerns about it.”
“The Rwandan asylum system is woefully deficient. It’s marked by acute unfairness and arbitrariness … serious safeguarding and capacity issues,” Mr. Husain said.
The barrister said Home Secretary Suella Braverman “does not dispute the state of the Rwandan asylum system significantly […] but rather seeks to ignore it.”
The hearing will continue on Tuesday with submissions from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The prime minister has made stopping boats crossing the English Channel one of his top five priorities ahead of a likely general election next year.
